Chapter 14

Pinepaw crouched miserably in his nest, staring at his littermates play-fighting. Three days had passed since Nimblepaw’s death. He felt so empty, his heart aching whenever he was distracted—his thoughts would always go back to Nimblepaw. I should join the game. They need another player. But Pinepaw knew that was not what he wanted.

“Pinepaw,” a voice called. “Shadowpaw, Duskpaw, Darkpaw.”

Pinepaw turned and his littermates stopped their game. ShadowClan’s leader, Dawnstar, was poking his head through the entrance to the apprentices’ den. The orange tabby’s large paws thumped the ground as he stepped inside. “Hello, apprentices,” he purred. “I was thinking about who would attend the Gathering tonight. Do any of you refuse to go?”

“No, of course not, Dawnstar,” Darkpaw replied immediately. “It’s our first ever Gathering! Why would we want to miss it?”

“Good,” Dawnstar meowed. “I was hoping you’d say that. Just checking.” He turned to ShadowClan’s other apprentice, Snowypaw, who had been watching Pinepaw’s littermates curiously as they were play-fighting. The spotted white she-cat had lost her brother, Whitepaw, in a battle with RiverClan. “What about you, Snowypaw?” Dawnstar asked her kindly.

Snowypaw blinked at him. “Sure,” she replied. “I want to see how WindClan reacted to the stolen rabbit.”

Dawnstar blinked back at her warmly. “Great,” he mewed, and slipped back out.

Pinepaw longed to ask Snowypaw how she had gotten over the grief of losing Whitepaw, but he was afraid she would get suspicious of him. Besides, Glidepaw told me to keep Nimblepaw’s death a secret.

As night slowly fell outside their den, the apprentices began to crawl out of the den. “Pinepaw,” Snowypaw whispered to him.

Startled, Pinepaw padded over to her. “What is it?”

The older apprentice blinked at him. “I was just going to ask…are you alright? You refused to play the game with your littermates.”

Pinepaw glanced ahead at Shadowpaw, Duskpaw, and Darkpaw. They were chattering excitedly, bouncing around in excitement. I really wish I could share their excitement, Pinepaw thought sadly. But how can I ever, with Nimblepaw dead? “I’m fine,” he replied to Snowypaw.

Snowypaw still looked unconvinced. “Do you need any help?” she pressed. “A piece of fresh-kill before we go to the Gathering?”

Pinepaw shook his head. “It’s fine,” he told her. He took a deep breath. It’s now or never. Besides, if she does get suspicious and ask me why, I just won’t tell her. She can’t force me to do anything. “Snowypaw,” he began, “how did you get over the death of your brother? It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me, I totally understand, but I was just wondering…”

Snowypaw winced at the mention of Whitepaw, but she still replied, “Well, it wasn’t easy. I just knew I had to be a good apprentice, and I knew if I kept feeling bad, then I wouldn’t be able to do that. So…I just try to honor his memory. Maybe I’ll ask Dawnstar to name me after him or something…”

Pinepaw nuzzled her shoulder. “I understand. It must’ve been hard.”

Snowypaw nodded. “Come on. The others are leaving.”

They padded toward the rest of the group and slipped outside.

 

As they reached the island for the Gathering, Pinepaw realized that every Clan but SkyClan was here. “What makes those squirrel-chasing mage-pelts so late?” a gray tabby tom from RiverClan spat.

A white she-cat with black stripes from ThunderClan glared at him with piercing yellow eyes. “It’s not your job to make insults, Lakeheart,” she snarled. “SkyClan will get here soon enough.”

Pinepaw looked the other way and realized that many other cats from different Clans were arguing, too.

“They’re too scared to show up!” a muscular golden tom from ThunderClan yowled.

“They might’ve encountered a problem along the way!” a small dark gray tabby apprentice exclaimed. He’s barely an apprentice! Pinepaw realized.

“Shush, Riverpaw,” an old gray she-cat murmured, leading him away from the others.

“Pinepaw,” Mousetail called.

Pinepaw turned around and realized that his mentor was beckoning him with her tail. His littermates had already joined a group of apprentices. “Coming,” he meowed, padding over to the group.

“Hi,” a gray-and-white she-cat was meowing, “I’m Curlpaw.” She waved her tail at the nearly identical gray-and-white tabby beside her. “And this is my sister, Swirlpaw.”

“I’m Mistpaw!” a pale gray apprentice squeaked.

“You’re barely an apprentice,” Darkpaw scoffed, echoing Pinepaw’s thoughts.

“We’re newly apprenticed,” a gray she-cat with surprisingly purple eyes explained. “I mean, sure, we’re small, but that doesn’t mean—”

She broke off as the bushes rustled, and the SkyClan leader, Breezestar, stepped out. More warriors followed behind her as she made her way across the clearing. “Finally!” RiverClan’s leader, Fishstar, growled. “About time, too!”

“We are sorry.” Breezestar dipped her head and leaped gracefully onto a branch on the Great Oak. “We had some…difficulties coming here.”

She’s not telling the truth, Pinepaw observed. I mean, I wouldn’t either, if I were leader and two of my cats died previously and there’s a strange cat in the forest. He shivered. Did any more cats die besides Nimblepaw?

“Then,” Flystar mewed, “if you’re all ready, let the Gathering begin!” The cats below her fell silent. “I’ll go first,” the WindClan leader meowed. “Prey is scarce because of the leaf-bare cold, but we are still well fed. Dovebird has given birth to Timberheart’s kits: Ivykit, Grasskit, Featherkit, and Rabbitkit.” The Clans murmured their congratulations.

“Prey is running well in ShadowClan,” Dawnstar announced. “We have four new apprentices. Pinepaw, Duskpaw, Darkpaw, and Shadowpaw.”

“Pinepaw! Duskpaw! Shadowpaw! Darkpaw!”

Pinepaw and his littermates sat proudly, their eyes shining like stars. This is the best moment of my life! Pinepaw thought. He felt as if he were glowing. Everyone’s cheering for me!

“Prey is fine in ThunderClan, too,” Nightstar meowed. “One of our apprentices got injured, but she’s healing well.”

Pinepaw saw Swirlpaw shrink back into the shadows, and Curlpaw gave her sister a reassuring lick. Is she the one who was injured? Pinepaw wondered. Or is she the one who made the apprentice hurt?

“SkyClan is doing well,” Breezestar mewed, standing up from where she was sitting. “We have scented a strange cat on our territory, but it seems like it has gone for now.” Pinepaw could see the faint glimmer of fear in the SkyClan leader’s eyes. “We have two new apprentices,” Breezestar continued. “Cloudpaw and Skypaw.”

“Cloudpaw! Skypaw!”

Pinepaw glanced over at the SkyClan cats and saw the two cats huddled in a corner together. One was a fluffy white tom, and the other was the blue-gray she-cat who had comforted Darkfur the other night.

“RiverClan also have new apprentices,” Fishstar mewed. “Riverkit, Mistkit, and Lavenderkit have become Riverpaw, Mistpaw, and Lavenderpaw.”

“Riverpaw! Mistpaw! Lavenderpaw!” the assembled cats cheered.

“Thank you,” Flystar mewed curtly. “Then if none of you have anything else to share, this Gathering is at an end.”

As the five leaders leaped down from the Great Oak, Pinepaw couldn’t help glancing at the SkyClan cats. They were strong and well fed, but the terror and uncertainty in their eyes was clear. We’ve got to help SkyClan, Pinepaw thought as he and his Clanmates headed back to camp. They’re in terrible danger, and I’m the only ShadowClan cat who knows!